All Wrong
by gildedirises
Summary: Ed is finally home in Amestris, but nothing is the way he remembers it and his greatest reason for returning home doesn't seem to remember what they had before he left. Post-CoS AU Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Sorry, but the plot bunnies have been attacking lately. But this is it, I swear! I won't try to juggle more than 3 different stories at the same time. From Ed's perspective, this story is anime-based and follows CoS but with RoyEd goodness (of course). But the world he thinks he's returned to will have many unpleasant surprises for Ed.

**Disclaimer**: Hiromu Arakawa is the creator of FMA.

* * *

Roy Mustang sat next to Riza in the back seat of the military vehicle, a troubled frown creasing his forehead. His fingers drummed impatiently on the seat beneath him. "Can it really be true? Can he be alive after all these years?"

"There was never any body found, Roy. We both know his grave in the military cemetery is empty." She shrugged. "But I defer to your knowledge when it comes to what can be done with alchemy."

"Ed was a genius with alchemy…" Roy stated quietly, bringing his hands together in his lap. "Could it be some mistake -someone that just looks like him?"

Riza rifled through the paperwork in her lap, checking names and dates. "He's been examined by five separate physicians, three of whom had examined him back before the Liore incident. They are all fairly certain it is him."

"Fairly certain?"

"It's been ten years, Roy. Even under the best of circumstances, his body would have suffered some wear and tear. Ours certainly have."

Roy grimaced in acknowledgement. "What about the automail?"

"I contacted Winry and asked her to come back to Central."

Dark eyes looked up in surprise. "You told her?"

"Not over the phone." Riza sounded affronted that he would suggest such a thing. "I'll explain it in person when she gets here."

Roy wiped a hand wet with cold sweat across his brow. "Al… What about Al?"

"He's in Xing, at the imperial court. We sent word to have him come back to Central as soon as possible."

A large crowd of reporters surrounded the front entrance of the hospital, but Roy's vehicle slid around to the rear entrance while the decoy vehicles pulled up in front. Riza's hand patted down her gun holster under her coat even as the door on her side was opened by one of the military guards. Riza slid out quickly, stepping aside to make room for Roy.

Roy hesitated and took a steadying breath before sliding out after Riza. He paused to straighten his coat and brush back the unruly black bangs that always betrayed his state of mind. Even after all these years, he hadn't learned not to play with his hair when he was aggravated.

The hospital administrator met him at the door. "Welcome to Charity Hospital, Mr. President," the man said with a bow, opening the doors for Roy.

Roy paused to extend his hand to the kind-looking elderly man. "Thank you very much, Doctor –" Roy paused.

"Chandler," Riza supplied seamlessly.

"-Chandler. We appreciate your discretion in this matter." Roy shook the man's hand, trying not to betray his impatience with these niceties when he really just wanted to see for himself if the man in the hospital room was – could even possibly be – the missing and presumed dead Edward Elric.

The doctor seemed to understand Roy's motivation and directed them quickly to the nearest elevator. He consulted a clipboard during the ride up and gave them a quick breakdown of the patient's condition. "He was found yesterday morning by several MPs on patrol outside an abandoned church here in Central. His clothes were soaking wet and he appeared to have suffered near-drowning as he had aspirated water into his lungs. Our gravest concern right now is that he may develop pneumonia, so we are treating him with antibiotics. His automail limbs are attached but do not appear to be functioning correctly. He took a blow to the head, but does not appear to have a concussion. He has a number of contusions and lacerations, none of which are life-threatening. He appears to be physically exhausted and spent a significant portion of the last 24 hours just sleeping. But when he became conscious earlier today, he demanded to see you, Mr. President. We were forced to restrain him for his own safety."

"Tch," Roy responded, shaking his head. "Knowing Fullmetal and his reputation for wide-spread destruction, I'd assume your hospital was also at risk."

The doctor pursed his lips in disapproval. "He did manage several transmutations before we were able to restrain him. One of your State Alchemists came through earlier to correct the damage."

They finally exited the elevator. The doctor led them down a long white corridor. Two military guards were stationed outside the double doors leading to this wing of the hospital. They both saluted as Roy walked by, one moving to hold a door open for them.

Only a few nurses were on staff at the nurses' station. They must have been warned that he was coming, because Roy could feel their eyes on him, but they didn't seem surprised. A familiar face greeted them outside the patient's room. Roy gave the blond a relaxed smile. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Major Brosh."

Denny snapped a crisp salute, but his grin was still boyish and infective. "Thank you, Mr. President."

Roy paused outside the door, examining Brosh thoughtfully. "Major, you knew Colonel Elric from his time in Central, correct?"

"Yes, sir. That's why I was asked to come."

"What do you think? Is it really him?"

A frown creased the blond's face as his smile faded. "It's hard to say, sir. There are some things he's said that – well, I'm thinking it's from his fever or the blow to his head. But – he certainly looks and acts like Major Elric. Sorry, I mean, Colonel Elric."

Roy shrugged off the mistake with Ed's rank. He'd been promoted posthumously, like so many other heroes who died in the line of combat. "What has he been saying?"

Denny shrugged noncommittally, his gaze sliding away from Roy's. "Nothing I could clearly understand, sir. He seems - confused."

Roy's midnight blue eyes cut over to meet Riza's russet colored gaze. It was obvious the man was uncomfortable sharing the information with them, but maybe it was because of the mixed company. There were still so many unanswered questions from the dark days surrounding Ed's disappearance. "I'm going in alone," he decided.

"Roy –" Riza began to protest, but Roy held up a hand.

"As the doctor already mentioned, the patient is restrained –"

"And sedated," the doctor added.

"He's highly unlikely to be any sort of threat," Roy finished, trying to stare down the blond woman who represented the greatest challenge to his plan.

"I don't like it," Riza growled.

Roy sighed and his hand ruffled his bangs in irritation. "Do I have to make this an order?"

Her eyes widened with surprise and hurt, before she stood to attention and snapped off a crisp salute.

Roy felt a stab of guilt and anger. "At ease, Riza. You're not in the military anymore, remember?"

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but then seemed to change her mind. Instead she pulled the gun out of her jacket holster and handed it to him. "If you insist on proceeding alone, take this, just in case."

He locked stares with her for a moment, but knew if he didn't agree she wasn't letting him go through that door alone. He reluctantly took the weapon and slipped it inside his coat pocket. He shrugged his shoulders and looked around at everyone watching. He brushed his hair back nervously, took another steadying breath in through his nose and nodded to Riza. "Thank you."

Roy turned to the door and Denny opened it for him.

There was only one bed in the room which housed the patient in question. Roy stopped just inside the doorway to stare at him, as if afraid to get closer. At first glance he wanted to deny that this could be Edward Elric. It was a grown man in the bed, with a scruffy growth of beard on his face. The planes of that face were long and angular, and the body beneath the bed covers was much taller, perhaps just two or three inches shorter than Roy. But the long hair was the same color of gold Roy remembered, with those long bangs framing Ed's forehead and that ridiculous cowlick antenna. And between the hospital gown and the bed covers, Roy caught the distinctive silver gleam of the automail arm.

It felt to Roy as if all the organs in his body were attempting to change places. He could feel his heart race while his stomach seemed to leap and plunge. He stood rooted to the spot, holding his breath. He wanted this to be Edward. He thought he'd given up hope of ever seeing the boy again. He'd written the whole Elric saga off as some horrible morality play that ended in the tragic death of a boy turned hero.

The man on the bed groaned and opened his eyes, as if somehow sensing Roy's presence. And every doubt Roy had about the identity of this man was banished when the familiar golden eyes looked up at him. Roy crossed the remaining distance to the bed and swept the figure into a bone-crushing hug that would have made Alex Louis Armstrong proud. Roy blinked back tears and didn't trust his voice to speak, not even sure what he'd say.

Edward groaned and struggled a bit in Roy's grasp. Roy pulled back, remembering that the blond was still attached to restraints and an IV. Roy relaxed his hold to free his hands and set to work immediately, undoing the buckles and removing the restraints.

"Roy," the man croaked in a deeper pitch than the boy's voice ever reached.

Roy kept his gaze focused on the restraints until they were free. There was a trembling pause when the leather bands fell away as if both men were waiting for some signal. Then Edward sat up and wrapped his flesh arm around Roy, pressing them together fiercely. Roy brought his own arms up and hugged back with the same determination. The boy who had sacrificed everything to save those around him had finally been rewarded, returned to his friends and family. Roy closed his eyes and laid his dark head alongside Ed's, listening to the other man's breath hitch. He could feel the body in his arms tremble and felt hot tears soak the side of his neck above his jacket collar. Roy's eyes stung with unshed tears of his own.

"It's really true," Edward stuttered. "I'm finally home."

Roy nodded, unwilling to trust his voice.

They sat that way for several long moments, just trying to take it all in. Roy marveled that the man Edward was so much more comfortable with this physical closeness than the boy would ever have been. He wondered what other surprises Ed's maturity would reveal. He wondered where the boy had been and what had happened to him during those intervening years. And he reminded himself that the boy was no more and that this Edward was a young man.

Ed relaxed his hold, pulling back to look up into Roy's face. Roy had a surreal moment when he saw the look of overwhelming love on Ed's face. He started to shake his head in denial of what he was seeing, but Ed grabbed his lapel and pulled him down into a salty, tear-stained, passionate kiss.

Roy didn't know if they touched for a moment or an eternity before his brain kicked in and he jerked back from the blond, shoving him back with a push. "Fullmetal, what the hell are you doing?"

Ed looked around in confusion. "What? There's no one here to see us!" Ed pulled at Roy's lapel again. "It's been so long, Roy. Damn, I've missed you so much!" There was urgency and desperation in the man's whisper as he stared up at Roy, trying to drag him back down for another kiss.

Roy wrenched Ed's hand from his coat and stumbled back from the bed, staring over at the blond as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He tipped his head sideways as he examined the other alchemist, trying to make sense of all this in his head. Then an answer dawned on him and he shook his head ruefully. "Oh, very funny, Edward." He gave a short, strangled laugh. "You got me. Hah. What, did you and Brosh hatch up this little prank to trick me?"

"What are you talking about?" Ed asked, his face betraying hurt and confusion. The golden eyes were studying him intently now, searching for something. "You look different…" Ed whispered. Suddenly, those golden eyes widened in panic. "Where's – where's your eyepatch?"

Roy shook his head again. "Eyepatch?" Maybe the doctor had underestimated the effects of that blow to the head Edward had sustained. Brosh had said he seemed confused.

Ed's eyes narrowed in suspicion and an angry flush colored his cheeks. "Who are you?" the blond snarled accusingly. "Envy?"

Roy saw the hands come together in that all too familiar clap and was grateful that Ed's automail was only barely functional or he might not have been able to stop those hands from completing whatever transmutation Ed had intended. Roy grabbed the man's wrists and struggled to restrain him.

"Riza, Brosh!" Roy barked, his own strength only barely matched to Ed's adrenalin-pumped flesh arm. If that automail arm had been working, there was no chance Roy would have stopped him.

The others came running in through the door. Denny moved to assist in restraining Ed while Riza worked to replace the restraints.

"Get off of me! What are you doing?" Edward's struggles turned frantic. His voice wavered between angry accusations and pleading. "Hawkeye, look at him! That's not Roy!"

Roy was so close to the struggling blond, Ed's shouts rang in his ears. He looked into that familiar yet changed face and wondered if whatever had brought Edward back to them had somehow damaged his mind. Could fate be any crueler?

The doctor came alongside Ed's flesh arm after Riza had managed to get it back in the restraints. He checked the dosage of some clear fluid in a syringe, and then pushed the needle into the bunched muscles of Ed's shoulder. "Calm down, Mr. Elric. Everything will be all right," the doctor murmured soothingly, patting the patient's arm.

"Not Roy!" Ed gasped as he struggled against the numbing effects of the drug. "No…" The man's eyes rolled up in his head and the doctor checked his pulse.

"I hesitated to give him more tranquilizer, but, as you know, he can be extremely dangerous."

Riza was glaring daggers at Roy. "What happened? What did you do to him?"

Roy put his hands up defensively. "It's not my fault. He's the one who started acting strangely." Roy pointed at Ed like a naughty school kid would point out his accomplice to the teacher.

They all turned to stare at the blond now safely restrained and unconscious in the hospital bed.

"It's really him, isn't it?" Riza asked, a sense of wonder in her voice. She reached out and brushed the blond bangs back from his face before sliding her hand along his bearded chin.

"I believe it is, but…" Roy shook his head again, frowning in confusion. "There's definitely something wrong with him. What did he mean about me having an eyepatch?"

Riza looked back at Roy, speculatively. "Well, you do look more like Fuhrer Bradley now that you're older." Roy snorted in indignation. "Perhaps he just got confused…"

Roy almost mentioned the kiss. It was on the tip of his tongue to say something when the hospital room door swung open to admit his best friend, Brigadier General Maes Hughes, head of Investigations.

"Whoa! What's going on?" Hughes asked, looking around the room at all of them before his eyes settled on the man in the hospital bed. Maes' stared.

"Hughes…" Roy said quietly. He saw Riza's gaze flicker between them before she directed it back at Ed. Roy closed his eyes. "What did you find out?"

Hughes tore his gaze away from the blond alchemist. "Well, it looks like there was some kind of secret passage in that church they found Ed near, but the tunnel was completely collapsed. An alchemist who was with the team thinks Ed brought the whole thing down behind him. It will take some significant excavation to determine what is back there."

"And what about the homunculi?"

"Nothing. No reports of any activity." Maes grimaced. "Why? You don't think that's Envy, do you?"

Roy shook his head. "No. As far as we know only Wrath could perform alchemy and this man is a confirmed alchemist."

Maes moved up next to Riza at the side of the bed. "Then it really is him. After all this time." He was smiling fondly down at the sleeping face. "Elysia will be thrilled. Next week is her fourteenth birthday. That means Ed's going to be twenty-six."

"Let's hold off on the celebrations for right now, Maes. There's a mystery here that needs to be unraveled first. I have a very bad feeling about this."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Well, it looks like when I first filed this story, I set up Ed and Russell as the search criteria. Yuck! I'm surprised anyone read it at all. So thank you to the brave few who took a chance on this fic. Ed is in for a lot of shocks in this world that seems so much like home. Oh and I should warn about character death. I brought back Maes and some of the homunculi, so there will be some established character deaths to balance that – a sort of equivalent exchange, if you will…

Reviews – thanks very much!

Horselvr4evr123: Roy's face is far too gorgeous to cover with an eye patch and I love Hughes, so it was easy to make those changes. Some of the other stuff is going to be harder to accept. Ed does angst so naturally, doesn't he?

mrawgirl09:Yeah, can you imagine poor Ed? He gives up everything (including Al, btw) to come back to his beloved Roy and what does he find? A Roy that pushes him away like he has cooties. Damn, life can be so cruel (and authors…authors can be cruel, too…)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist. Please credit Hiromu Arakawa for her brilliant work.

* * *

Maes sat back in the chair he'd had moved into the patient's room, balancing his clipboard and pen in his lap. He wondered in passing if hospitals went out of their way to make these chairs as uncomfortable as possible so the hospital staff didn't have to worry about visitors hanging around and could focus on the patients instead. He glanced over at the patient to confirm he was still out, and then directed his gaze to the blond standing in front of his chair. "Okay, Major, spill it. Roy said Edward made some comments to you."

Brosh scrubbed at his face for a moment before speaking. "As soon as he saw me, he seemed to recognize me right away. He asked how Lt. Ross and Major Armstrong were doing."

Maes' green eyes widened in surprise behind his glasses. "Armstrong? But – Ed was at the funeral, right?" Hughes had been laid up in the hospital at the time, recovering from his injuries.

"Yeah. He stood between Colonel Mustang and that blond girl, the automail mechanic."

"Winry Rockbell." Maes grimaced. He remembered her well, though he hadn't seen her since Edward's 'funeral'. He had never seen a clearer picture of someone suffering from a broken heart. He wondered how she was going to handle all of this.

"Did you tell him Armstrong was dead?"

"Yeah. He was very upset, like he was hearing it for the first time. He asked how it happened…"

"What did you tell him?"

"That one of the homunculi killed Armstrong. Not much else. He was very distressed to hear that the homunculi were still around."

Maes pushed his glasses up and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "We don't know everything that happened in Liore, only what Al observed. Perhaps Ed thought he had killed them all."

Denny shuffled his feet, looking down at the floor.

"What else?"

"Well - you, sir. Ed thought the homunculi had killed you,too."

"What?!"

"He seemed to think that you'd been killed back before the Liore incident."

"But I was there, outside Liore, with Archer. I spoke to Ed myself." Maes remembered Roy's dismay that Ed had made a deal with Archer to go into Liore and do some spying. Hughes, himself, had grabbed the boy by the arm and tried to make him change his mind. Maes had never trusted Archer. The fact that the man willingly aligned himself with Kimbley just proved what a scum bag he was. Maes still believed that Archer knew he was sending the teen to his death. Despite the fact that Ed's actions had saved all the soldiers and the people of Liore, Maes still wished that he had found a way to convince Edward not to go. 'It's not fair for me to risk anyone else's life but my own,' Ed had told him. 'I'm the one who made the mess here. I already have enough deaths on my conscience. I have to make this right.'

Maes found himself staring at the blond in the bed. This just didn't add up. It wasn't just a case of confusion on Ed's part. It was as though the man's memories had been systematically replaced with a different history of events. Hughes heaved a sigh and looked back at Denny. "Is that everything?"

Brosh glanced at Edward and then looked back at Maes with those candid blue eyes. "Just a feeling, sir – a gut reaction, if you will. I don't understand why he can't remember things the way we do, but I truly believe that that man is Edward Elric."

Maes' nodded once, a thoughtful frown creasing his forehead. "Very well. Thank you, Major. Please have Major Ross relieve you of guard duty. I'd feel better if Ed had some familiar faces around for the time being. Dismissed, Major."

Denny saluted and left the room, glancing back over his shoulder at the patient before he exited.

Maes glanced at the clipboard he had been taking notes on. It just didn't make sense. Why would someone have gone to the trouble to kidnap the teen in Liore, keep him in hiding somewhere for ten long years, reprogram his memories, and then suddenly release him back into Central? What could they possibly gain? Certainly, things had finally reached a measure of stability in Amestris. The reforms Roy had pushed through had given power back to the people through a new Parliament. They had almost achieved everything they had set out to do all those years ago after the nightmare of Ishbal. There was a very real possibility that Ed was sent here to somehow sabotage all that, whether the young man realized it or not.

Roy. The kid had been too close to Roy all those years for the President not to react strongly to him being 'found'. Roy had suffered a tremendous amount of guilt when he thought the boy had been killed in Liore. It had been touch and go for a while there. If he and Al hadn't been around to remind him of the consequences, Roy might have tried human transmutation again. As it was, Ed's 'death' had galvanized Roy into taking action against the Fuhrer immediately.

Maes thought about the look on his friend's face before Roy and Riza had left the hospital tonight. Roy had been understandably upset and confused by Edward's reaction to him, but there was something else… Well hidden behind the polished mask, Maes had sensed embarrassment and a touch of guilt. It was a look he hadn't seen on Roy's face since – Images of another time flashed through Maes mind. He felt his own cheeks flush before he hastily cut off that line of thought. Well, not for a very long time…

Maes squirmed uncomfortably and rose from the chair, redirecting his thoughts away from Roy and back to the putative Edward Elric in the bed. Although Brosh's gut reaction wasn't based on hard facts, Maes, himself, had had to rely on what his guts told him too many times to dismiss the other man's conclusion. He had quite a few questions to ask this young man, and he had to be prepared for Ed to react badly to his presence, just as he had to Roy earlier. After all, this Ed thought he was dead. Maes had to convince Ed that he was the real deal and not the homunculus Envy in disguise, a conclusion he seemed to have reached about Roy earlier.

"An eye patch, huh?" Maes found that hard to imagine. Roy was so vain about his looks. It was hard to imagine him with a disfiguring facial injury.

The blond in the bed groaned and stirred, already fighting off the effects of the sedative. Edward had the same ability to bounce back quickly, even from fairly grievous injuries. Another clue that this man could be the real thing. The golden eyes cracked open and cast a blurry look around the room. The man blinked up at Maes in confusion, and then the eyes flew wide.

"Maes?!"

"Hey, Ed. I'm glad you're awake. It's been awhile, huh? Look , I brought pictures of Elicia and Ed." He whipped out the pictures and thrust them into the man's face before he could react.

The blond's frowning gaze drifted from Maes' face to the pictures fanned out in front of him.

"Aren't they adorable?"

"Two?"

"Yeah, we had a boy five years ago. Elicia is the best big sister ever. Here she is holding him on the day he was born, and this is her feeding Ed a bottle…"

"Ed?" the young man's voice was still rough and his words unsteady, as if he was having trouble putting his thoughts together.

Maes lowered his head so he was looking right into those golden eyes. "We named him Edward Hughes."

The man's eyes opened wide again, his mouth gaped open. "Why?"

"Because we wanted to honor the memory of a fallen comrade, and a dear friend."

Ed's flesh hand clenched into a fist. "I didn't die. But I thought you did…"

Maes grinned easily. "Then I guess we were both mistaken."

The blond sighed. "I feel so confused…"

"You took quite a knock to the head. The doctor said you don't have a concussion, but maybe it just knocked a few things loose in there."

Those golden eyes searched Hughes' face with amazing intensity, but Maes didn't turn away or let his own gaze falter. He had to gain Ed's trust. "Is this a dream?"

Maes reached out and pinched the blond.

"Ouch! What the hell, Lieutenant Colonel?"

"It's Brigadier General, and I guess that proves you're not dreaming."

"Brigadier General… Well, I guess I should have expected that. It's been, what – six years or so."

"You've been missing for ten years, Edward."

"Huh. I guess you can't really count the time I came back six years ago. I don't think I was here for more than a few hours at most."

Maes frowned. He had never heard this. He nodded without saying anything, hoping to encourage the other to say more.

Ed glanced down at his automail arm, still strapped to the bed. "I don't know what I would have done if Winry hadn't been able to replace my automail back then." He smiled up at Hughes. "As you can see, I finally got some height."

Maes smiled kindly. "And you've matured a lot if you're able to say that without ranting…"

"Yeah, I guess I have. At least, that's what Al tells me."

"Al?" As far as Hughes knew, Al was still in Xing.

The young man's face darkened with profound sadness. "Yeah. I – He –" Those golden eyes teared up and the man turned away to hide it from Hughes. "I miss him."

Maes put a comforting hand on Ed's shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, Roy sent word to Xing. I know Al will take the first boat back."

Edward looked back up at Maes with that same disoriented look. "What?"

"It's okay. Roy was able to open trade routes with Xing, and Al went to study their form of alchemy."

"But, how long has he been back?"

"Back? I just told you, he's still in Xing."

Ed shook his head. "No, how long has he been back in this world?"

Maes stared at Ed. "I don't know what you mean, Ed."

Edward waved his hands in frustration. "You know, from the world on the other side of the gate. The one that sent the animated suits of armor to attack Central. And the planes. You have to remember the planes…"

Maes tried to school his expression, to not let his profound disbelief show on his face. What Denny had learned had only scratched the surface of Ed's delusion. This didn't sound like some reprogramming anymore. This sounded like a mental illness. It hurt Maes to think that this brilliant young man had finally lost touch with reality.

"You don't know what I'm talking about."

Maes shook his head. "No, Edward. I'm sorry. What you're saying doesn't make any sense to me. I don't know anything about another world or planes or armies of animated armor…"

"Where the fuck am I?" The man's voice ground out hoarsely. His expression was agonized. "How can this be all wrong?" The golden eyes widened in horror. "Am I – Do you think I'm crazy?"

Hughes pushed his glasses up and rubbed at his eyes. "If you were, I don't think you'd ask that question," he replied softly. "But I think we should bring in a psychiatrist to evaluate you."

Ed nodded slowly as his gaze drifted away. He shut his eyes. "I'm really tired now, Hughes. I'm going to sleep now."

Maes suspected that was a lie, but he had to respect the fact that the young man needed time to process everything. He glanced down at the copious notes he had taken from what Edward had said. Hughes was going to need time to process this, too. And he had a lot of questions for his friend Roy, as well. A world on the other side of the gate? That gate thing sounded like alchemy. Something he'd overheard Alphonse discussing once with Roy. It seemed extremely far-fetched, but if it meant that Ed wasn't crazy, then maybe he had come from somewhere else. Maybe he wasn't even their Ed, but some parallel universe Ed. It made Hughes' head spin.

On impulse, Maes reached out and brushed the blond bangs and tweaked the antenna hair. He rubbed a thumb gently over the deep crease of frown that still haunted the young man's face. Hughes should have known this was too good to be true. Edward never seemed to get his happy ending. "Goodnight, Ed," he whispered before turning and quietly leaving the room.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Geez, is it March already? Before I know it, it will be 2010! Another angst-filled chapter for your enjoyment (or not, as the case may be). This fic has a small, but loyal following and I thank you for that! This one is also the story that my muse seems most interested in, lately. I can already see a number of different scenes in my head. I hope you continue to stay tuned, because there are interesting times up ahead.

Review replies:

Horselvr4evr123: Thanks very much for the encouragement! This chapter will likely add to the confusion, though :p

Fairyfae: I'm glad you're enjoying my twisted plot. I couldn't leave Maes dead. He's such a wonderful character!

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Ed lay strapped to the hospital bed and tried to summon sleep to take him away from what felt like a waking nightmare. But his brain refused to rest and seemed to keep circling around everything that he'd heard and experienced since he came here. He was in Amestris. He truly believed that now. Though his automail arm was unresponsive, he'd still managed to perform alchemy earlier by touching his flesh hand to the dead metal arm. But, somehow, Al was here - and Hughes was alive, and Armstrong was dead, and Roy… Ed's chest tightened painfully and hot tears leaked out from beneath his closed eyelids. Roy had pushed him away in surprise and wiped Ed's kiss away as if it revolted him. His fear that Roy was Envy in disguise had faded after talking to Hughes. So what else could explain Roy's odd behavior?

It had been so many years... Did Roy blame him for leaving the second time when he returned to Earth with Al to close the portal on their side? Or had Roy forgotten those few precious months they had spent together before Roy had gone to fight Pride and Ed had gone to retrieve his brother from the other homunculi – memories that had kept Ed's hope alive all these years? Ed struggled against the wave of anguish that washed over him. He could still feel the recent warmth of Roy's skin, smell his scent, and taste Roy on his lips. Memories of their time together from ten years ago came flooding back through him.

"_Edward," Roy breathed in that husky, urgent voice that always sent a thrill down Ed's spine. Roy's hands around Ed's chest pressed their sweaty, panting bodies together as if he were trying to mold them in to a single being._

_Ed leaned forward on to his knees, arched his back and turned his head and shoulders so he could press his lips to the man's behind him. The handsome pale face above Ed was flushed from exertion, the midnight blue eyes looked black from the combination of dilated pupils and lowered eyelids, and the fine black hair clung damply to Roy's forehead._

_Ed's hands were clenched into trembling fists and rested on top of his own thighs where they stretched wide across Roy's lap. Ed groaned in pleasure and exhaustion into their shared kiss and felt Roy's lips shape his characteristic smirk. Ed pulled away from the kiss and glared at his lover. "What's that smirk for, Bastard?"_

_Roy leaned back and to the side so Ed couldn't see him well. He brushed his lips lightly across Ed's flesh shoulder. "I still can't believe this is real," Roy said quietly. He gently lifted Ed's loose golden mane of hair and ran his tongue over the base of Ed's neck. "That you and I are doing this." Roy thrust his hips up into Ed as a reminder of what they had so recently done and Ed gasped at the surge of sensation against his already oversensitive body."And doing it quite well, I might add."_

"_If I knew you were a smirking bastard even during sex I would have reconsidered," Ed grumbled, shifting his position to pull off of Roy and away from the arms around him._

"_No you wouldn't. You love this, Ed. Admit it." Roy pressed his lips to Ed's neck, just above the automail join, kissing and nipping a warm, wet trail up to Ed's ear. His warm breath tickled Ed's ear and the side of his face. _

"_I love you," Ed whispered and gasped in surprise and then covered his own mouth with his flesh hand, humiliated that he had finally said the words and frightened about how Roy would react._

_Roy's hand came up to Ed's jaw, gently removed Ed's hand from his face and turned him enough for their lips to meet again. _

Edward choked back a sob when grim realization hit him. For ten years, this and other few precious memories had kept Ed looking for some way, any way to get back to the man he thought had loved him. But Roy had never said it. He had never said he loved Ed - not once in all those times they were entangled in each other's arms. How could Ed have been so blind? All this time, he had been living with the delusion that he had meant so much more to Roy than a moment of passing pleasure. He had risked everything to come back here and be with Roy again. And for what? Some juvenile fucking fairy tale, apparently! Ed's flesh hand tightened into a fist and he twisted and pulled at the leather restraints until they cut into his flesh, the pain in his arm a welcome distraction from the emptiness inside him.

* * *

Riza glanced over at her husband. Roy sat on the edge of their bed, the fingers of one hand pressed to his lips, a frown creasing his forehead. He had gotten distracted just getting out of his clothes, his shirt pulled out of his slacks and half un-buttoned. She hadn't seen him this worried in some time.

"What is it, Roy?" she asked quietly. "The doctor did say Edward took a blow to the head. I'm sure between Hughes and the doctors they will sort this out." She sat down next to him and placed a hand on his thigh. "Or do you think that's not really Ed?"

Roy looked up at her with the same dazed, faraway look in his eyes. He lowered his hand and shook his head, looking out the window. "It's Fullmetal," he said without hesitation.

Riza's fingers traced patterns in the material of Roy's slacks. "If he was being held by kidnappers, they might have hurt him… even damaged his mind."

Roy nodded vaguely, but she could tell he wasn't really listening.

Riza moved her hand up to Roy's face, directed his gaze at her. "Talk to me, Roy."

His dark eyes searched her face as if trying to gauge her reaction before he decided what to say. She was reminded of another recent and uncomfortable discussion they had had. After all these years, she had thought she knew her husband. She had spent more than half her life beside him, supporting him, watching his back. But his recent revelations to her had led her to believe that Roy still had some dark secrets hidden away, things she would never have guessed or expected. "Was there something – between you and Ed – before he left?"

"What?" Roy hissed out, eyes opening wide in surprise. "Why would you even ask that?" Roy stood up from the bed and walked away from her. "Shit, Riza! What kind of a pervert do you think I'm am?! Ed was just a kid when he disappeared!"

"I'm sorry – it's just that…"

He turned on her angrily from his spot in front of the window. "This is about Hughes again, isn't it?"

She hung her head, unwilling to look him in the eyes. "I just thought –"

"What? That if I fucked Hughes when we were at the Academy that I'd go after Ed, too? I may be bisexual, Riza, but that doesn't make me a pedophile!"

"Roy, I –"

"Dammit! You make me wish I never told you!"

"But I'm glad you told me!"

"Yet you refuse to forgive me, is that it?"

"I already told you I forgive you, Roy."

"Words, Riza. You said it, but you didn't mean it, or you wouldn't keep bringing it up every time I turn around!"

"Roy, I'm sorry!"

Roy snorted in disgust, tucked his shirt back in and headed toward the bedroom door.

Riza jumped up off the bed and took several steps toward him. "Where are you going?" she pleaded.

"I need a drink," he said, without looking back at her. He opened the door and shut it behind him without another word.

Riza dropped back onto their bed, hands fisted in her lap. She wished she could take it back, what she'd said. But now that she knew there had been more between Roy and Maes than she ever imagined, she couldn't stop watching the two of them together. When had they crossed the line between friends and lovers? Despite Roy's protests to the contrary, she wondered if they were still lovers – meeting in secret. It made her question every other male relationship Roy had. And she couldn't help wondering just how close he had gotten to the young blond alchemist.

* * *

Roy didn't know why they bothered to fill a crystal decanter with liquor for him. He was content pouring it straight from the bottle to his glass. It was more efficient his way and didn't generate extra glassware that needed cleaning. Besides, with the way things had been going lately, Roy had been down here repeating this scenario more times than he cared to think about.

The golden liquid had a familiar bite and sent a warming flush through his body. He swirled the contents of the glass in the light from the fireplace. The flames reminded him of Ishbal and he could almost hear the screams of the dying. He had so many regrets. Watching Edward leave for Liore was definitely one of them. But had he been sending mixed signals to the teen? Did the boy have reason to think that Roy had felt anything more than parental affection toward him? Roy shook his head in confusion and rubbed a hand over his face.

He heard a knock at his study door and expected it was one of the servants who helped keep the presidential mansion full of crystal liquor decanters, among other things. "Come in," Roy called over his shoulder, not really interested. He knew these people were aware of how much he drank and how often he slept somewhere other than his own bed. It made him long for the days of being a footloose Colonel, although they hadn't felt footloose at the time. 'Be careful what you wish for,' the old adage said. Roy couldn't agree more.

Roy heard the door open and close behind him, then the sound of booted feet on the wooden floor. He glanced up in surprise to see Maes Hughes frowning down at him. "Drinking, again, Roy?"

Roy shrugged, but slumped further down in the leather armchair like a guilty kid. "Your powers of observation are extraordinary. This must be why you're in charge of investigations," he rgumbled sarcastically.

Maes snorted and dropped down in the chair next to Roy. "I assume this means you're arguing with Riza again…"

"Again? Feels like constantly, of late."

"Roy –"

"Don't start with me, Maes. You didn't come here to give me marriage counseling and I don't need a lecture from the guy who didn't have the balls to tell his own wife that he screwed his best friend years ago!"

Maes' green eyes went cold and his expression hardened.

Roy looked away, unable to meet Hughes look. "Why did you come here anyway?"

"Edward Elric."

Roy sighed and his hand brushed lightly across his lips before he frowned at himself and took a large swallow of whiskey. "What did you find out?"

"What do you know about the Gate?"

Roy's eyes widened in surprise and he looked at Hughes. The other man's face was completely serious. "Not much, really," he admitted. "Al seems to know the most about it. Ed's former teacher was also familiar with it. Apparently, you only see it if you attempt human transmutation…"

"What's beyond the Gate?"

Roy shook his head. I don't know. Grasping black hands, a strange being, a thousand gleaming eyes, the Truth, heaven, hell… I don't know, Maes. Why?"

"Because this young man claims to have been in another world beyond the gate."

Roy scoffed. "That's impossible. Ridiculous." Roy took another drink of whiskey to brace himself against a sudden chill that ran down his spine.

"At this point, we either have to accept that these things could be real, or resign ourselves to the fact that this could be Edward Elric, but whatever happened to him after Liore has driven him completely insane."

The glass slipped from Roy's numb fingers and shattered on the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** So the new anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood should be live in Japan today, but since I've spent the whole night writing, I haven't had a chance to check youtube for any updates. I can't wait to see it! Sorry it took a month to update, but RL can be a real bitch sometimes… Oh well, hope you enjoy! And if you don't like EdWin, hopefully you can grit your teeth and get through this chapter, it's one of the few that will be from Winry's POV.

Review replies:

Luthine: Yeah, I'm cruel to my poor Edo. Honestly, I do love angst =D There's lots of it ahead! I love Maes, too. Why, why did Arakawa kill him??? And the Maes/Roy backstory is waiting ahead for a chapter all its own… Yum. But there's a reason for Ed being here (in this other Amestris) and I'll unravel that part as I go. Glad you're enjoying it! Thanks for reviewing!

ZeeZombieX: Thanks very much for reviewing. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I'll try to clarify the differences between worlds as I go. Sorry for the delayed update.

Funni-chan: Really truly sorry I made you guys wait for for angst-laden drama! Thanks for the wonderful encouragement.

On to the story…

* * *

Winry Rockbell was tinkering. It was something she did normally, but when she was nervous, it got noticeably worse. She looked up from the automail hand in her lap to glance out the window at the countryside passing outside the train window. Although it had been ten years since she had come to Central, she recognized the familiar landmarks and breathed a sigh of relief that she was almost there.

Her gaze wandered back to the automail hand she was working on. It was beautiful, a work of engineering masterpiece, and her latest design. Micro-sensors inside the fingertips were designed to interact with the finest of nerve bundles to give the owner not only movement and a sense of pressure, but to start to restore the fine touch that made the human hand so amazing. It also meant that once installed, it could not be removed. Nerves and sensors would grow together along the arm and down to the hand. It would be the next best thing to having a flesh and blood hand.

Almost unconsciously she ran the automail hand over her own forearm, thinking about what the owner of that hand would feel with the new design. The touch of the cold metal made her shiver and the hairs stand up on her arm. She closed her eyes and pictured Edward. Even after all these years she missed him so very much. And though she still had Al, he had become cold and distant, as though his warmth had fled with Ed's disappearance. So Winry had poured what was left of her broken heart into her work and become an automail engineer of the highest caliber. That must be part of the reason Riza had summoned her back to Central.

Winry pulled out one of the cases she had brought with her and lovingly returned the automail hand to its spot next to the arm and leg already inside. A right arm and a left leg. It didn't escape her notice that she always built her prototypes for Ed. She honestly didn't believe he was dead. Maybe that had something to do with the fact that she continued her lonely bachelorette existence while her friends all married off and started families. She'd been offered plenty of opportunities by so many men over the years to start over. But she'd given her heart to an Elric when she was still a child and didn't know how to replace him.

The train's pace slowed to a crawl as it pulled into the station. Winry was looking forward to getting off the uncomfortable seats and stretching her legs in the open air. She searched the crowd outside the window and didn't miss the beautiful blond woman waiting for her in the crowd. Riza Hawkeye – Mustang, Winry corrected herself - was still a striking woman with her smooth skin, long blond hair and unique reddish-brown eyes. She wore civilian clothes now, but her bearing was no less military than that of the two armed security guards who accompanied her. Winry was a bit surprised not to see the Colonel – no, President – at her side, but then realized that he was probably very busy in his new job.

Winry took her two cases and left the compartment with the rush of other passengers headed off the train. The human traffic flowed around Riza and her guards like the rush of water around a rock in a stream. The two blond women regarded each other for a long moment as if unsure how to proceed before Riza moved forward to hug the younger woman. Winry set the cases down right away but her arms rose slowly to return the hug. The feel of Riza's arms around her reminded Winry of the last time the woman hugged her – at Ed's funeral. Winry blinked back a hot rush of tears.

Riza pulled back slightly and touched her hand gently to Winry's face. "We can't talk here. I'll explain in the car."

Winry nodded silently, not yet trusting her voice, and followed Riza and her guards to the big black car parked right outside the station. One of the men opened the car door and closed it after Winry and Riza slipped inside.

Riza was silent and was glancing out the window with a very pensive look on her face. It gave Winry a chance to study the older woman more closely. Riza must be in her late thirties by now, fine lines graced the corners of her eyes and the space between her eyebrows. But being a president's wife must be more stressful than being a first lieutenant because Riza looked more tired and unhappy than Winry remembered ever seeing her. Riza must have felt her gaze because the russet colored eyes slid away from the view of Central's passing streets and settled on Winry's face.

A faint smile curved Riza's mouth. "You've grown into a beautiful young woman, just as I thought you would," Riza said quietly.

Winry blushed. She'd heard that so many times, but to hear it from the very person whose beauty she had long envied was a high compliment. She struggled for something to say in response. "I still can't believe you married the Colonel – I mean, the President. The two of you must have made the most beautiful children in Amestris." And Winry wished she could snatch the words back when she saw the fleeting look of pain in Riza's face and one of Riza's hands unconsciously come to rest on her abdomen.

"Roy and I never had any children." A play of emotions ran behind those warm brown eyes. "But what about you? I didn't know you were married."

Winry flushed a bright red and lowered her big blue eyes to stare at her left hand where she wore a broad gold wedding band on her ring finger. "I'm not, actually. It's my mother's ring. Granny gave it to me when I came of age."

"But if you wear it like that then you'll fool all the young men out there into thinking that you're taken," Riza advised gently.

"I'm fine with that." Winry didn't look up at Riza, but stared at the ring on her finger, the one she'd hoped Ed would put there someday.

Winry heard Riza's audible sigh before she saw the other woman reach over to pat her hand. "You must be wondering why I called you to come out to Central."

Now Winry did look up and couldn't hide the hope in her gaze.

"Two days ago, they found a young man near an abandoned church here in Central who looks –" Winry saw Riza pause to consider her words. "Amazingly like Edward."

Winry snatched at Riza's hand in her lap like a lifeline as she felt her world tip precariously. She must had heard her wrong. "Wh – say what?"

"It's true, Winry. I saw him with my own eyes."

"Ed's alive?! He's here in Central?!" Winry's voice had slid into the kind of high pitched octaves that bats might use to echo-locate things. She stopped speaking, not because she didn't have a million things she wanted to ask, but because her voice box decided she could no longer maintain that pitch and left her silently mouthing her questions.

"Winry," Riza said patiently. "We're not sure that it is Ed. He's said and done some things that are very – strange. He certainly doesn't act like the Ed we knew."

"But it's been ten years – ten years, Riza!" That was a lifetime in Elric years. Look at everything Ed had done in just the first ten years of his life! How could she think he wouldn't have changed?

"I understand. But it's ten years of experiences we can't account for. Who knows where he's been, what's happened to him or who he's been with?"

"Who?" Winry's mind was churning. It would never have taken Ed so long to come home unless something terrible had happened to him or he was being held somewhere against his will. "You think he was kidnapped in Liore? Who would do such a thing? The homunculi?" If Ed had been with those – things- all these years who knows what they might have done to him?

"Winry. We don't know. Hughes spoke with him last night and what he told him was – well, frankly, it sounded crazy, Winry."

"Crazy?" Icy cold panic threatened to drown Winry's tide of happiness.

"It's a possibility we need to consider." Riza looked away. "He attacked Roy last night."

Winry laughed in relief. "But they never got along! It was probably just ten years of Colonel Bastard Ed had to get out of his system." This was all some terrible mistake. Ed was home. Everything was going to be alright now.

"Not like that Winry. If his automail had been fully functional he might have killed Roy."

"Killed?" That didn't sound right. Strangled, maybe, but not to death… Wait, did she say – "What's the matter with his automail?!"

"We're not sure. It just doesn't seem to work. It's almost dead weight on him."

Winry flushed in anger. She hated it when Ed abused her fine craftsmanship. She wished she'd brought a wrench with her.

"I'm telling you all this so you'll be prepared when you see him, Winry. He's strapped into restraints and sedated right now. Hughes asked a psychiatrist to come by and give him an evaluation. Just –" Riza gently rubbed Winry's forearm with her free hand. "Don't get your hopes up too high. "

And suddenly the car stopped and they were outside one of the largest hospitals in Central. Winry felt numb. She'd had too much up and down on an emotional roller coaster since she got off the train. She needed to concentrate on something that would steady her. She focused her thoughts on automail. She slid out of the car and followed Riza and the guards almost mechanically.

Ten years ago she had made a completely different type of automail. She'd been experimenting on early versions of metal composites back then to try and lighten the weight Ed had to drag around. But the difference in metal strength had made those prototypes easier to damage. Riza had said they weren't functioning, not that they weren't there. Perhaps some vital screw had broken, like the time she forgot to install that screw before he fought the homunculi in lab 5. She still winced at her own stupidity for that mishap. Wait until he saw what she had in her case! The new metal matrix composites were titanium and silicon carbide for strength with aluminum for lightness where the strength wasn't needed and –

Winry almost ran into Riza when she stopped. She had been so wrapped up in her engineering that she forgot about where they were and why they were here. She glanced around at the guards who had escorted them, the nurses' station, and the familiar face outside the closed hospital door. "Oh – uh," but Winry couldn't put a name to the face.

"Major Ross," the blue-eyed, dark-haired beauty responded with a warm smile. "How are you Miss Rockbell?"

"Winry."

"Maria."

Riza's hand brushed her side just under her arm and Winry remembered that the military sometimes carried firearms in holsters there. Did Riza really think she needed a firearm to defend herself from Ed? "How is he this morning?" Riza asked cautiously.

"Tired, withdrawn, depressed," Ross supplied sadly. "He's not eating so the doctors increased his IV drip. The psychiatrist was here earlier. She prescribed him something that should keep him calmer without the need for all the sedatives."

"Any more outbursts?"

"No. He's not really saying anything. At least not to me."

Riza looked at the guards. "Miss Rockbell and I are going in alone."

The two men nodded and took up positions outside the door, but Ross raised a hand in caution. "Can I please go in with you, ma'am? I'd feel safer if someone else was in the room after last night."

Riza looked at Winry as if asking her permission for someone else to view what should have been an intimate moment between old friends.

Winry shrugged. If it was really Ed in that bed, she didn't care who saw her reaction. She'd never been shy when it came to expressing herself about her feelings for the blond alchemist.

Riza nodded to Ross who pushed open the hospital door. Winry held back, frozen with indecision. Was it Ed? What if it wasn't? What if it was and something was terribly wrong with him? Winry couldn't imagine anything more cruel than to have him finally come home but never get to enjoy that because it wasn't really him… She heard herself hyperventilating, and she felt her heart racing. A bright flush raced over her skin followed by a cold chill. She felt like she was teetering on a precipice and didn't know if she would soar away or plummet to the ground. Then Ross and Riza stepped aside and she saw him.

Loose golden hair was spread out across the pillows behind a face that was both familiar and strange, a strong jaw framed with several days' growth of beard and mustache, the small nose, the golden bangs, the cowlick and the large golden eyes that were half lidded when the others entered then widened in surprise and pleasure at the sight of her. "Winry!" It was his voice, but deeper and rougher. She thought she would never hear it again. Never see him again. Never feel the ice around her heart crack and let real feelings rush through.

She was across the room and wrapped around him with no memory of how she had gotten there and all she knew was that she never wanted to leave. She was crying, sobbing, and desperate.

"Winry, hey, it's okay. Please stop crying," Ed said in a soft, broken voice.

She wanted to feel his arms around her, but he hadn't moved from his original position when she first collapsed against him. She pulled back and saw the restraints holding him to the bed. She saw the fresh bandages around his flesh wrist and she screamed in frustration, tearing at the buckles with her hands.

"Winry, stop!" Riza commanded in a voice that sounded like a gunshot.

"Let him go! Leave him alone! I'll take him back to Resembool. He won't bother you anymore. Please stop hurting him!" Winry blurted out through sobbing breaths, her hands still frozen in the act of unbuckling the restraints. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks, soaking Ed's blankets and the leather restraints. "Don't take him away again."

"Winry," Ed repeated her name over and over in a soft, soothing tone. "It's okay."

"It's not okay," she sobbed like a petulant child as she climbed up on the hospital bed next to him and curled up against his chest, unmindful of any injuries he might have, or the way his beard scratched her face when she buried it in the crook of his neck, her hand caressing the cold, lifeless automail arm over and over again because she put all her love for him into the automail she made for him. How could he not know how much she loved him and how badly she had missed him all these years?

She trembled and sobbed against him until her eyes ran hot and dry and her breathing settled to hiccupping, shuddering gasps for breath. She felt his nose brush against her earrings. "No new piercings?" he teased gently.

She blushed and pulled back to look at his strange, but familiar face. Her heart clenched at the sight of him. If she thought he was beautiful when he was younger, his adult face did things to her adult body that made her blush all over. She was acutely aware of that hard muscled chest under her hand, the powerful body she was laying against. She glanced away from those questioning golden eyes, focusing her gaze on his automail.

Automail she had memorized while she built it. Automail she had dreamed of replacing for ten years. Winry's eyes widened. She glanced at Ed, then back at the automail. "Where did you get this?"

Ed cleared his throat. "I'm not sure you'd believe me if I told you." His voice sounded sullen and resentful.

"Edward, this isn't the automail I put on you ten years ago. Where did this come from?"

"Someone made it for me," he said quietly.

"Who?"

Ed shrugged. "I'd rather not say."

"Dammit, Ed. If I have to repair or replace it, you could at least tell me where it came from!"

He glared at her with that stubborn look she knew so well.

With a swift movement she reached out with both hands and twisted the upper arm in its socket, popping the whole unit loose at the shoulder.

"Ouch! Dammit, Winry, that hurts!"

Winry said nothing, staring down at the automail arm in her hands. She knew the manufacturer's mark, but this didn't make any sense at all. "This isn't mine."

Ed grunted.

"What's the matter, Winry?" Riza asked, causing Winry to start when she remembered the other women were in the room.

"Everyone who makes automail for a living puts their mark on the pieces. Like an artist signs their name to a painting," Ed said softly.

"Is there a mark?" Riza asked.

"Yes," Winry answered quietly, her fingernail scratching over the surface as if she could change what she saw, prove that it was a fake. "But this doesn't make any sense."

"Well, who made it?" Riza asked with a trace of impatience.

"I did," Winry answered. "Six years ago, according to the mark."


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Went down to San Diego for some fun in the sun. Spent a few days petting bat rays, feeding sealions, and getting splashed by orcas and pilot whales. Oh, and the Atlantis ride is pretty awesome, too. Yayz for spring break! Vacation almost over, but I thought I'd give you a new chapter of All Wrong before the weekend's over. Enjoy!

Thanks very much to everyone reading, alerting, favoriting and especially reviewing! I'll use the system to respond this time.

* * *

Roy was tired, cranky and highly distracted when, against Riza's strong recommendation, he made his way, alone, back to the hospital room where Fullmetal was being held. He had just met with Hughes, Ross, Riza and several of the doctors who had been attending to Edward, including the psychiatrist who performed his evaluation earlier that day. They all seemed to be saying the same thing. This was Edward Elric – at least an Edward Elric – who seemed to have crossed from his reality into theirs when he passed through the Gate. And the psychiatrist would have said that such wild claims made him delusional, but they couldn't dismiss the evidence Winry had found on the automail. Maes had even called in an expert on something called quantum mechanics who started talking about wave functions and probability amplitudes until Roy felt like pounding his head on the table. Then two sentences emerged from the intellectual fog that struck Roy with clarity "Every possible outcome to every event defines or exists in its own "history" or "world." In layman's terms, this means that there is a very large, perhaps infinite, number of universes and that everything that could possibly happen, or could possibly have happened, in our universe (but doesn't) does happen in some other universe(s)."* And if the Gate was a way of moving between worlds, as this Edward claimed, couldn't it also move between universes? Roy could really use an expert on the Gate, but there wasn't one - at least as far as he knew. Those who had seen it rarely spoke of the experience. Roy really needed to talk to Al.

Ross and Brosh had been re-assigned back to their normal duties, so a pair of unfamiliar guards stood outside Ed's hospital room. Roy managed to return their salute, hopefully without looking as wasted as he felt, and pushed through the door into the room beyond, his eyes focused on the floor, his thoughts swirling around in confusion.

"Winry –" Ed's voice issued in soft protest was the first thing he heard, followed by the wet sound of lips coming together.

Roy stopped dead in his tracks and looked up to see the young blond woman lying on top of the golden-eyed young man in the bed. Winry's legs were spread wide across Ed's hips as she leaned over his prone form, her hands pressing his shoulders back into the bed, her head leaned down over him as she pressed her lips eagerly against his. They were both very attractive people and normally Roy would have found the sight rather erotic, especially with the young woman's obvious ardor, but Ed turned his face away from her kiss with a violent jerk of his head and directed his gaze out the hospital window. Roy shifted uncomfortably, feeling trapped in their tableau. He really should leave, but he felt glued to the spot…

"I said stop," Ed hissed quietly at her.

Winry sat up with a shocked look on her face. "But I don't understand, Ed. You know how I feel about you. I love you, Edward. I always have. I'm tired of waiting around for you to figure that out. I can't risk losing you again." Winry's voice was soft and broken. Her hands clutched at the blanket over his chest.

"I know," the young man answered, closing his eyes against the pain in his best friend's face.

"Don't you feel anything for me at all?" she pleaded.

"Winry, I-" He bit his lip as if to stop himself from saying more. His eyes opened, but his narrowed gaze stared fixedly out the window.

"Edward, please. I've waited so long. At least be honest." Roy could hear the tears in her voice and he winced in sympathy. He had no right to be here. He needed to leave before this got any more awkward – but Ed's next words stopped him in his tracks.

"There's someone else," Ed breathed the words out, full of pain.

"What?!"

"I'm sorry, but I'm in love with someone else." And Ed did turn his face back to look at her then, as though to convince her of the truth of his words through the pain and conviction that shone from those gilded irises. But instead of focusing on Winry's face, the windows of Ed's soul shifted their focus to Roy standing mute and unmoving just inside the door, and Roy didn't miss the young man's involuntary wince of pain at the sight of Roy or the bright flush of anger that followed.

The sound of Winry's hand striking Ed's face filled the room with a resounding crack. Ed's eyes had gone back to focus on her face even as her handprint flushed an angry red welt on his cheek. She had scrambled off of him and stood trembling beside his hospital bed.

"I'm sorry," Ed said quietly, watching the young woman as if he was afraid of what else she might do.

"I – " Winry started. She snatched the automail arm from where it lay beside him in the bed, recently unfastened from the restraints. She clutched the arm to her chest like a shield against her own pain. She drew a shuddering breath, but seemed unable to collect her thoughts.

"Winry, please. I do love you, just not like that. You're like a sister to me. You'll always be part of my family."

And though Roy knew how important those words were to someone like Edward Elric, who would sacrifice everything for family, he also knew the effect that "I love you like a sister" could have on a woman's ego when she had expected something so different, so much more. Winry had paled and stepped back from Ed as if he had hit her. Her frantic blue eyes, bright with tears, turned towards the door seeking escape and saw Roy just standing there. An angry, humiliated flush bloomed over her cheeks and the blue eyes hardened. She dashed passed Roy on her way out the door.

"Winry- !" Ed called hoarsely, his voice full of concern and shared pain. But the young woman had no interest in hearing any more from him right now. When the sound of her footsteps faded down the hallway, Ed turned his amber gaze toward Roy.

"What the hell do you want?" he asked roughly.

The young man looked and sounded so much like the boy Roy remembered that it was hard to reconcile this image with the desperate young man who'd pulled Roy down into a tearful, passionate kiss yesterday. But then he saw the flinch of pain again before Ed looked away and he remembered that the boy's instinct had always been to hide his pain with anger.

"I wanted to talk," Roy said, steeling himself against the awkwardness of the moment. He moved closer to the bed.

"Take a number and get in line," Ed growled, glaring out the window.

"Fullmetal –" Roy started.

"Look, if this is going to end in some awkward heartfelt confession, I've had enough of those for today." Ed sighed and closed his eyes. " I'd prefer if you just snapped your gloved fingers and put me out of my misery."

It was Roy's turn to wince, especially when the amber eyes came back to settle on him with such a sharp, painful, pleading expression. Roy's mind floundered, caught between how he would have addressed the boy he had known and what he could possibly say to this young man that he didn't really know – maybe had never known… "Al's coming."

The young man's face paled and his eyes widened, a smile trembled at the corners of his mouth, but collapsed into a frown. "I don't think – I'm not sure if that's…" Ed stopped while his mind and heart fought for control over his emotions. "I'm not his Ed," he finally whispered.

"You don't want to see him?" Roy couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Yes! No! Oh hell, I don't know! This is so messed up!" Roy saw the blond's lower lip tremble before it was caught between his teeth. A fierce scowl crossed his face. The golden stare was fixed on his own lap as the fingers of his flesh hand flexed and strained against the restraint. "Al…" Ed whispered, somewhere between a prayer and a supplication.

Roy stopped a few feet from the side of the bed. "Al's the only person I know who's also seen the Gate, Fullmetal. He might be able to help us understand what happened…"

"I don't want him to see me like this!" And the golden eyes returned to Roy's face, desperate and pleading.

Roy closed the gap between them and started working loose the buckle on the leather restraint. He could feel Ed's gaze on him and hear his surprised gasp, but he didn't look up.

"Should you be doing that?" Ed asked quietly, his breath a warm puff of air on Roy's neck.

Roy turned his head and his eyes widened in surprise at how close they were. Ed had sat up and with Roy bent over they were almost eye to eye, mere inches apart. He felt an involuntary blush creep up his cheeks and he couldn't help but remember the feel of the young man's lips pressed against his own. Roy knew he was staring at Ed's lips before he saw them curve into a smirk.

"Aren't you worried that I'm dangerous to you?" Ed's voice was a low growl that sent an unexpected thrill through Roy. He tried to convince himself it was fear or at least uncertainty.

Roy didn't speak until he had finished undoing the restraint. He stepped back slightly, but continued to hold that fiery gaze. Roy cleared his throat. "I want to believe that you are Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist, the Hero of the People. I want to believe that you are sane, not delusional or brainwashed. I need to show you that I trust you so you will learn to trust me. I want to understand you – and help you, if I can." Now Roy did look away, gazing at the bandaged wrist that still lay unmoving in the unbuckled restraint. "And I'm sorry about how I reacted when you –" Roy frowned. Saying the words made him see the event in his mind. Being so close to the blond made him remember the feel of Ed's body pressed against his, and brought an unexpected heat to life within him. Roy didn't understand where this reaction was coming from. Maybe Riza was right after all. Not that he had actually done anything with the teen, but had he been feeling this chemistry toward him even back then?

"Yeah, okay, I get it," Edward said hastily, waving off Roy's comments with his newly freed hand. "Let's not talk about it anymore." He didn't seem to want to discuss what happened between them yesterday anymore than Roy did. "So..." Ed drew out the syllable into a long sigh. A silence stretched between them, filled with countless unasked questions.

Roy watched the young man scratch irritably at his beard. He smirked. "I never thought I'd see you with a beard."

Ed stopped scratching and cast Roy a sideways glare. "It wasn't planned, believe me. It's kind of hard to shave with both your hands restrained," he grumbled sarcastically.

"It makes you look like Hohenheim." As soon as he said it, Roy regretted it. The boy had hated his father for abandoning them.

But Ed's face looked thoughtful instead of angry. "I do, don't I?"

"Well, sort of a pint sized version."

"Who the hell are you calling so short he's only half the man his father was?" Ed ranted, waving a clenched fist in Roy's face.

Roy smirked.

"You're still a bastard, Colonel," the young man sulked.

"President, actually…"

Ed blinked and stared at him owlishly.

"Wow, slow take of the year," Roy gloated.

"Shut up, Bastard!" Oh, how those marvelous golden eyes could burn! It was a nice contrast to the faint blush that stained his tanned cheeks.

"Snappy comeback. You know I really missed these intellectual discourses…"

"You're really gonna miss my fist in your face if you don't knock it off!"

Roy started laughing, a genuine, tension-relieving laugh, because even at 25 the young man was so easy to get riled. The familiarity of their exchange felt so right to him. Maybe this wouldn't be as difficult as he'd feared.

Ed's body slumped back into the pillows when Roy started laughing. Those amber eyes softened considerably and a smile played at the corner of Ed's mouth. "I love it when you laugh," he rumbled. "You should do it more often."

Roy shrugged as his laughter died. "There hasn't been a lot of cause for enjoyment."

Ed grunted in agreement, but then the spark was back in his eyes. "But you're President. You fulfilled your dream. Surely that has to count for something."

"It's –" Roy stopped, his lips pursed. He wasn't sure how much to say to this Ed. But he was trying to build trust, after all. He looked out the window. "Things have changed, I believe for the better, but –"

"It's not what you thought it was going to be…"

"Yeah," Roy said, lowering his gaze to meet Ed's eyes. "And it doesn't stop the nightmares…"

Ed frowned up at him and they both sighed simultaneously. Ed tore his gaze away first and stared at his hand where it plucked fuzzy pills off the worn hospital blanket. "If I'm going to be here for awhile, I guess I need to get some more information before I go around sticking my foot in my mouth."

Roy almost teased him about this new found social awareness, but at least Ed had gotten to the heart of what Roy had come here to figure out. "Okay. Where do you want to start?"

"Everyone seems to think I disappeared from here ten years ago."

Roy nodded. "We assumed you were killed during the fight with Scar and Kimbley in Liore."

"Ah –" the golden eyes clouded over, like sunlight through a mist of fog. "Liore. I remember. It was terrible. All those lives lost."

Roy shook his head. "But just think about how many soldiers you saved because you stopped Scar from performing that transmutation."

"Huh?"

"You don't have to play dumb, Fullmetal. Al saw you. He knows that you killed Kimbley and then he said you and Scar started fighting. He tried to follow you, but he said you disappeared. We all saw the array around the city light up and then fizzle out. We found Scar's body, with the mark of your automail blade across his throat. But we never found you…"

"What about the homunculi?"

"Gone. They disappeared into the countryside. We get reports of them from time to time, but they've been pretty quiet for the last ten years. It's like you cut the head off the serpent and they didn't know what to do."

"But Bradley was still in charge –"

"No. Al and I followed him back to Central and fought and destroyed him after we thought we lost you in Liore. It was time to stop the madness…"

"You and Al fought him. That explains why you weren't badly injured."

"Al was amazing. I almost think he didn't care if he lived or died that day."

"But you needed something from Bradley's original body."

Roy nodded and stared down at his hands. "Yeah. It was a cruel twist of fate that Bradley's adopted son, Selim, brought the bag containing Bradley's human skull with him when the mansion caught on fire. He thought he was saving his father's most precious possession. He was very lucky that Al was there to protect him from Bradley's wrath."

"Al…" Ed mused, a smile turning up the corner of his mouth. But then his eyes flew wide in surprise and horror and he searched Roy's face. "But there was no philosopher's stone!"

Roy frowned in concern. "No. We never found anything more substantial than the red stones."

"So no one ever… Al, he's –" Ed put his hand over his mouth.

"What is it, Edward?" Roy put a hand on the young man's arm as if to sooth him. "I told you, Al is coming back from Xing to see you. He should be here within the week."

"Al's still in the armor…" Ed managed in a strangled voice.

**AN2**: Poor Al, fourteen long years trapped in the armor… *Oh, and in case you think this many worlds thing is entirely a figment of my own imagination, you can find my direct quote in Wikipedia under Many-Worlds Interpretation. Wild stuff... Until next time!


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